Doc: Bearcats aiming for Higher Ground

Aug. 9, 2012

Butch Jones / Enquirer file photo

Written by

WEST HARRISON, IN – Team 125 is bunkering in for 12 days of football practice in The Land That Fun Forgot. We won’t say that the conference center at Higher Ground is ground zero for boredom. We’ll just say that for UC football players, the highlight of the day is the prospect of eating corn fresh from the local cob.

It is the perfect place for Lyle Allen Jones. It is a football terrarium. “One way in,’’ Butch Jones says, happily, “and one way out.’’ He adds that “a lot’’ of cell phones don’t work here. The “young men’’ get their rest. This also pleases him.

Even the name of the place sounds like a Butch Jones T-shirt slogan:

Higher Ground.

UC Bearcats. Aiming for Higher Ground.

Nothing filters Jones’ message at Higher Ground. This year, it’s “synergy.’’ He defines synergy as “creating a collective energy and consistency.’’ Jones has nearly two weeks to spread his Word. “The standards and traditions of UC football’’ are his gospel, he says. “We set that tone here, right away.’’

It’s a hopeful tone, because Butch Jones is a hopeful guy. Team 125 – “the 125th team in the long and storied history of UC football,’’ he explains – will not be expected to defend the Big East title it shared last season. “I don’t believe in defending a championship,’’ Jones says “That championship was won by that team, with a lot of guys who aren’t part of this team. Roles change. Each team has a one-year life expectancy.’’

This is a crucial year for Jones. It might even be a defining year. It’s his third year as head coach. He has had a couple recruiting classes. He has put his vision of Bearcat football front and center. He is working in an industry that does business on a fault line of greed and disloyalty. His own conference is at the epicenter of it all. If you don’t know who’s playing football in the Big East today, no worries. It’ll change tomorrow. Nothing is certain in college football, except money.

Against such a backdrop, how can a big-time football aspirant hope to do better than tread water?

If Butch Jones wins 10 or 11 games this year, will he be here next year? He has a young team. These Bearcats won’t play Pitt in their Thursday, Sept. 6 ESPN opener with a veteran, all-conference quarterback or running back. Zach Collaros and Isaiah Pead were not his players. Neither was Derek Wolfe, the defensive tackle Denver took with the 36th pick in the NFL draft. This is really the first team Jones can call his own.

If the Bearcats are better than the experts believe – they’re picked fourth in the conference – will Jones stay around to keep the ball rolling?

He is closer to the community than any of his recent predecessors. He believes UC can be a player nationally. He is convinced UC football deserves a spot on the same dance card as the Bengals and Reds, when it comes to fan and corporate support.

“At times, we’re undervalued here,’’ Jones says. “Sometimes, when you have something so close, you take it for granted.’’

He hasn’t been shy in urging people to buy tickets. He hasn’t hidden his disappointment when they don’t. “Without our community, we can’t accomplish what we want,’’ Jones says. “The first thing bowl games and conferences look at is attendance.’’

Jones knows the responsibility rests first with him. Win, then ask for support. It remains a Catch-22. Win enough, you leave. They all do. And then the next guy comes in, saying the same stuff the last guy said.

Jones calls Team 125 “a work in progress.’’ All college programs, except those at the very top, could say the same. Problem is, schools and coaches don’t often allow enough time for sufficient progress to be made. Everyone is antsy.

Last year, when UC was 10-3 after 4-8 the year before, Jones went from asking for patience to entertaining job possibilities elsewhere. You can’t have it both ways. I suggested to Jones that all coaches’ contracts be for five years, with the requirement that both school and coach honor the deal.

You can’t fire him. He can’t leave.

That gives a coach enough time to make his mark, and a school enough time to decide if the mark is worthy. As it is, Butch Jones is forced into saying the same things most coaches say. He preaches loyalty, yet will leave for a better job. His school signs him to a long-term deal, but includes buyout provisions.

“It’s a challenge because as a coach, you love your players,’’ Jones says. “You develop bonds. That’s what makes coaching special. But coaches have their own families, too. It’s a tussle.’’

UC has weathered its coachly storms, and stayed competitive. It doesn’t always work that way. Maybe Jones and UC each would be best served to listen to something Jones said Wednesday. He was talking about local high school players, choosing to play for UC. Just substitute “coaches’’ for “kids.’’ `

“We have kids now wanting to be Bearcats, and understanding what it means to stay home. That’s very important.’’